Conveyor systems are well known for use in conveying articles, such as containers or bottles, between different locations. Air-urged article conveyor systems are likewise well known for article conveying, as are systems that include guides for supporting articles by the neck ring of the articles and utilize air to urge the thus supported articles downstream in single file (see, for example U.S. Pat. No. 4,284,370).
When conveying articles between different locations, it has also often been found necessary to change the height of the article support at the output of the conveyor relative to the height of the article support at the input of the conveyor to accommodate infeed and discharge units of different heights (such as conveyor belts or the like). While height differences have heretofore been achieved between the opposite ends of a conveyor, complicated and/or expensive additional equipment has ordinarily been required.
For article conveyor systems that include air conveyors having guides for supporting articles by the neck rings, for example, changes in height of the supporting guides has heretofore normally required extensive and time consuming modification, or even virtual rebuilding, of the system each time adjustment of height was required. One attempt to accomplish height adjustment as a part of a conveyor system having an air conveyor and guides for supporting the neck rings of articles to be conveyed along the air conveyor is shown in U.S. Pat. No. 5,100,265, but this system requires providing a series of conveyor sections and rotation of the conveyor sections each time a new section is needed.